Solid foundation

Dallas-Fort Worth shines as 'hidden gem' housing market in 2022, experts predict

Dallas is considered a hidden gem.

For many reasons, residents of Dallas-Fort Worth consider the region a gem. Now, the metro area has been declared a 2022 “hidden gem” among U.S. housing markets.

The National Association of Realtors recently identified 10 “hidden gem” housing markets that are expected to see strong appreciation in home prices in 2022 compared with other markets. The alphabetical list includes Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio.

“The housing sector performed spectacularly in 2021 in many markets, with huge gains achieved in places like Austin, Boise, and Naples,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist and senior vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors, says in a news release. “Several markets did reasonably well in 2021, but not as strong as the underlying fundamentals suggested. Therefore, in 2022, these ‘hidden gem’ markets have more room for growth.”

The National Association of Realtors made their picks based on two factors: the market’s ratio of median home price to median family income sits in the lower half of the 379 metro areas analyzed, and the market’s demand for housing (according to seven indicators) is within the upper half of the 379 metros.

One of the seven indicators is the share of residents ages 25 to 44. According to the National Association of Realtors, 29.1 percent of the population in DFW falls within that range, compared with the national average of 26.7 percent.

Another indicator takes into account the number of people moving to a metro from other places in the U.S., known as net domestic migration. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, DFW experienced the second highest net domestic migration in 2020 (58,026) among all U.S. metros.

“Strong migration into the [Dallas-Fort Worth] area will continue to create upward pressure for home values to increase further in 2022,” the association says.

Among the 10 metros on the “hidden gem” list, DFW and San Antonio ranked first and second, respectively, for net domestic migration in 2020. Compared with all metro areas, San Antonio ranked seventh for net domestic migration (25,798) that year. Texas, as a whole, could reach 30 million people in 2022, according to recent Census figures.

The Realtors association points out that the San Antonio area has the second lowest estimated median home value ($227,684) among the 10 metros on the list and is “much more affordable” compared with other major metros in Texas. Those metros are Austin ($410,653), DFW ($293,976), and Houston ($245,098).

lists home-for-sale

living single

Dallas lands among 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone

Getty Images

In DFW, renters can afford to live solo.

Not everyone is cut out for living with roommates, but finding an affordable place to live alone can be tricky. Luckily, Dallas-Fort Worth sits among the top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living by yourself, according to a new report.

Analysts at Apartments.com discovered North Texas renters spend the seventh lowest share of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent out of the 50 biggest metros in the U.S.

The study used a 30 percent "common budgeting guideline" to calculate the share of median renter household income spent on one-bedroom asking rents across the 50 largest U.S. metros, and determined renters can only afford to live alone in 24 of the 50 metros without crossing the 30 percent threshold.

The median annual income of a DFW renter household is $63,172, and the findings show the typical asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment comes out to $1,348 per month. The study determined single renters spend 25.6 percent of their monthly income on rent based on the budgeting suggestion.

Texas' favorable rental market also extends outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Austin surprised as the No. 1 most affordable metro for living alone, and San Antonio appeared among the top 10.

Austin renters spend the smallest share of their income on single-bedroom apartment rent, at 23.1 percent. That's based on a median renter household income of $70,008 and a $1,348 monthly one-bedroom asking rent price.

Dwindling rent prices and the prevalence of major tech employers are also attracting new renters, and the city has an 11.6 percent apartment vacancy rate.

"The average rent in Austin has decreased year over year, and construction of new housing increased by 30 percent over the past decade," the report's author wrote. "Tax incentives in Texas draw large tech corporations, like Google and Apple, to the Austin area, which has increased average wages, added more jobs to the local economy, and attracted renters in the process."

San Antonio ranked right above DFW in sixth place nationwide with solo renters spending 25.4 percent of their monthly income on single-bedroom rent, coincidentally the same share as single renters living in Raleigh, North Carolina and Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is the income and one-bedroom rent data in San Antonio:

$51,029 – median renter household income
$1,082 – one-bedroom monthly asking rent

A separate Apartments.com survey found 39 percent of U.S. adults would never feel comfortable living with a roommate, and 16 percent of renters would rather pay more in rent to live alone than consider living with a roommate.

"Factors contributing to lower rents may include recent high levels of construction, rising vacancy rates as renter demand catches up to supply, and fewer regulations, such as flexible zoning and lower development costs compared to other parts of the country," the report said. "Living alone has become a non-negotiable for many renters, and some renters are willing to make tradeoffs to afford this lifestyle."

The top 10 most affordable U.S. metros for living alone are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Oklahoma City
No. 3 – Phoenix
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Salt Lake City, Utah
No. 6 – San Antonio
No. 7 – Dallas-Fort Worth
No. 8 – Denver
No. 9 – Portland, Oregon
No. 10 – Columbus, Ohio

real estate rent rent prices apartments affordability reports